Stuffed Sausage Peppers by Wendy

Ingredients:
6 large Bell Peppers, tops cut off, seeded
1-16 oz. Turkey Sausage, or 12oz. hot Italian turkey sausage links, removed from casings
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 cups instant rice
1 tbsp dried basil
1 cup Shredded Med. Cheddar Cheese, divided

Assembly:
1. Place peppers cut-side down in a large microwave-safe dish. Fill the dish with 1/2 inch of water, cover and microwave on High until the peppers are just softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Drain the water and transfer the peppers to a roasting pan.
2. Meanwhile, cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up into small pieces with a wood spoon, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes and rice; increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the rice absorbs the remaining liquid, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir basil and half the cheese into the rice mixture. Divide the filling among the peppers, then top with the remaining cheese. Let cool then place in freezer.

Serving Day:
To eat after making: Broil until cheese is melted, 2 to 3 minutes.

When frozen: Thaw in fridge before cooking. Bake at 350 degrees 20-30 minutes or until heated through.

To make ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Bake at 350 degrees 20-30 minutes or until heated through.

Mexican Dinner Dip by Mags

Mexican Dinner Dip - by Mags

This works well as a dinner or as an appetizer for a party!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of ground beef
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning
• 1 bag shredded cheddar
• 1 can refried beans
• sour cream
• large bag of your favorite taco chips
• Optional: chopped tomatoes and shredded lettuce
• Optional: substitute taco shells for the taco chips

Procedure:

1. You can use a 9x13" pan for a shallow dip or a round Corning Ware dip for a thicker dip - either works fine!
2. Grease your pan.
3. Spread out the refried beans to be the bottom layer.
4. Brown and drain the ground beef. Add in taco seasoning and water according to taco pkg. directions.
5. Spread out the ground beef on top of your refried beans.
6. Spread out whole bag of cheddar cheese on top of beef.

To Bake Immediately: Bake for 20 minutes at 350 until heated through and cheese is melted.

To Freeze for later: cover with a couple layers of foil and freeze. On cooking day, thaw first, then bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until cooked through. You might to keep it covered until the last 10 minutes so your cheese doesn't burn.

Scoup out big spoonfuls as desired add globs of sour cream as you like, and use your taco chips to dip!

You can also add chopped tomatoes, onions, or shredded lettuce to make taco salads. You could scoop up the mixture into taco shells for a fancy taco as well!

This is one of my favorites from growing up - my younger brother was in to cooking in junior high - this was his recipe! Enjoy!